GallBlabber

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Halloween Eve

Due to a scheduling conflict, our annual Halloween party was last night. It's just as well. Now you get to enjoy the pictures today. We had a wonderful time at the spookiest house in FV. We had Mrs. Jenny's famous chili, went on a hayride, and even managed to sing some Christmas carols. I think I ate too much chocolate. Now I just have to go home and watch the Charlie Brown and Garfield Halloween Specials tonight and my day will be complete.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

chicagoland

So we went to the Windy City. Our planes from NC, MA, and OH all arrived within 20 minutes of each other, so we had a joyous reunion at the baggage carousel. We piled into our rented minivans and headed through the city. Burt had mapped us out a scenic drive to his place. We got to go right through downtown and drive along Lake Michigan. We saw the Sears Tower, the fountain from the opening shot of 'Married with Children' (which would have been cool to me if I'd been allowed to watch that show...), Navy Pier, and the highrise where Oprah lives (she owns the top two floors).

We finally made it to Burt and Laura's new condo. It's in a beautiful old building, but everything inside is completely new (well...except for some of the exposed brick - but you know what I mean). We decided that even though Laura hadn't arrived yet, we should go ahead and take a family picture...

We were going to go out for lunch, but Burt suggested that we try the famous Giordano's pizza. After waiting for an hour (in which time Alla and I almost died of starvation), the pizza arrived. It was worth the wait! It was all I could do to eat a piece and a half. All the toppings and cheese were stuffed inside. Truly the greatest pizza I have ever eaten...and a wonderful first meal in Laura and Burt's home (even if we had to use pizza box lids for plates!).

The rehearsal dinner was perfect. I managed to eat all of my steak even though I'd had pizza not two hours earlier. We got to meet Laura's wonderful family. It was amazing that even though we were just meeting them, it seemed like we'd known them forever. I really hope they'll make it down to NC to visit us sometime. We also had to go ahead and get a cousin picture at the rehearsal dinner. Burt didn't get the memo about appropriate attire...but, he's the groom...so I guess it doesn't really matter...

The wedding day arrived, and the weather was perfect! Somehow Erin and I managed to do Laura's hair. They had a beautiful, sweet ceremony. I was tapped to handle the guest book at the last minute. I'm starting to get really good at handling guest books...

Laura didn't give me a chance to run away from the bouquet toss at the reception. She just came up and ceremoniously handed me the bouquet. Hmmm...

We all left the reception and headed back to Alla and Steve's room at the hotel to watch the World Series. Steve is a HUGE Red Sox fan...and although he was glad that they won the series, he was wicked upset that they didn't win at Fenway Park, and that he wasn't there to see it. Oh well...he'll be at the parade today. I hope it'll be wicked awesome.

We all managed to get up and get to the airport on time. It was a little sad as we all got back on our different planes to head home...but we'll all be together again in another 4 weeks. It never ceases to amaze me how, even though we all see each other maybe twice a year, when we do get together, it's like we've never been apart. I guess we're just blessed!

So that's the short version of the weekend's festivities. We made a lot of new friends, ate too much, and never quite got around to playing cards. I guess that leaves us something to do over Thanksgiving. John won Burt Bowl 2007. That leaves me at 4-4 on the season, even though I have the 2nd most points in the league. Oh well.

It was great to go, but nice to be home. Now I just have to finish getting my Halloween costume together.

Friday, October 26, 2007

skip reverse draw two

Chicago here we come! I'm completely shopped and mostly packed. I have to do a load of laundry tonight and decide which outfit will be the easiest to get through security with. And I have to dig out my Uno cards...the well-traveled deck that went on a tour of Europe and came home soaked in beer. But I'm keeping them. The redesigned decks don't look right.

It's kind of funny how I get SO excited about getting together with my cousins. But really, who else will sit up and play Uno and SkipBo all night? We used to have to hide the cards and make Fred, Shirley, Dan, and Martha think we were asleep, only to get the flashlight out and play until the wee hours of the morning. At one point I even had my bedroom arranged so we could use the mirror to see them coming down the hall to check on us.

Hannah will be poodle-sitting this weekend. Y'all come on over and play with Ginger if you get bored...

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

beep

Are y'all's Nextels down? Ours are down, and the glass place around the corner said that theirs are down too. It's nice to not hear that hateful radio beep every five minutes. It's turned out to be a beautiful day after all...

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

what to wear

I have to shop tonight. I've been putting it off for the last three weeks. Don't get me wrong...I like to shop...for electronics. And house stuff. And on Ebay. It's clothes that I hate shopping for. But now it's the 11th hour. I have to find something to wear to Burt & Laura's wedding. Do you think they'd be offended if I just showed up in pajama pants?

Thursday, October 18, 2007

gluttony

I just got home from the fair. I went with my wonderful friend Lydia, who is the only person in the history of the world to refer to fudge as an "appetizer." She enjoys her food...I wonder if that's why we get along so well???

She had fudge, a chicken pita, a fried candy bar, half of a bloomin' onion, and then, unexplainably stopped eating. She did stand in the really long line with me as I waited for my chocolate NC State ice cream, then drove my car home so I could eat it. I'm not going to lie...I ate it all and it was GOOD.

On a sad note, the onion ring place is no longer making onion rings. I am inconsolable.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

zoo crew

So the Carson and Wells families went to the zoo. They were very gracious and invited me along...although I soon figured out that I was only there to bolster the adults-to-kids ratio (I made it 8-7). We had a wonderful time...and I can honestly say that I've never seen so many kids be good for so long!

We started with Africa. I may have gotten on everyone's nerves when at every stop I asked "Did you see those in Africa?"

The cerval cats were cute. One was pouncing a butterfly. He reminded me of Oozey!

Here I observe some of the finest stroller-jockeying ever seen:

Lunch time! Any guesses on how long they actually sat there?

Post-lunch photo-op...it seemed like all of the animal statues were more popular with the kids than the actual live animals (and maybe the big kids too!):

I was disappointed that the polar bears weren't out. We did, however, find Hannah's selkie husband. He was working on his tan:

Ahhh...a place to sit down for a moment. A perfect opportunity for the weird face contest:

I think that of all the animals, the mountain lion was my favorite. They're always a lot bigger than I expect them to be!

So that was our trip. Hannah and I came home, ate a massive amount of Chinese food, and fell asleep on the couch at 8:30. I think that makes me old...

Monday, October 15, 2007

wreath thief

I finally shelled out money for wreaths for my front door and a pumpkin. I like the double doors, except that you have to buy TWO wreaths. It was all so festive for fall. Then I woke up from my nap yesterday and noticed that something wasn't right. The wreaths were gone. I stepped out on the porch. The pumpkin was gone. Hannah's gargoyle was gone.

SOMEBODY STOLE MY STUFF OFF THE PORCH.

I am livid. Someone came up on my porch and stole my stuff. Not to mention I'm out $60 that I JUST spent on Thursday. I guess it's a good thing I hadn't put out the flag that Mrs. Pam gave me. That might have been swiped, too. Lydia gets bonus points this week. She was the only person to actually see my wreaths.

I suppose I'll go buy some more today. I will be incorporating suggestions from Hannah and Rachael before I hang them. Hannah suggested that I stick million dollar bill tracts in them. Rachael suggested that I rig up some sort of mechanism that sets off tear gas if the wreaths are taken off the hangers. I like the way Rachael thinks.

Oh - and zoo pictures are coming later...I just had to get this off my chest first...

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

lunch time

It's days like today that I miss working at Big Blue the most. Wednesdays, specifically. Buffalo Chicken Wrap day. God bless whoever created this wonderful concoction of spicy chicken, lettuce, onions, and ranch dressing.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

redneck dump truck

I've had a long week. I haven't been home one night yet. Between Bible study Monday night, supper with C&C Tuesday night, and a yard work service project last night, I'm exhausted. Somehow I managed to escape the Kryzinski's yard without poison ivy. We started hauling away an ancient pile of limbs...and barely made it through FV without being stopped by the police for an overloaded-with-sticks-poking-out-everywhere truck.

OH - did you know that although it works for small stuff, dropping the tailgate, driving forward, backing up really fast, and then slamming on brakes will not dump a load of limbs out of the back of a pickup truck? It works in theory...but in real life...not so much.

I know nothing about the limbs out in the field behind Rachael's pond...

Monday, October 01, 2007

the 1st

Rabbit Rabbit Everyone!

I don't know who exactly started saying "Rabbit Rabbit" on the first of the month...but it never gets old. Especially when I can call Karen at work at get her every time.

Otherwise...nothing new going on. State got beaten. Again. It was a beautiful day at Carter-Finley, and I got a frozen lemonade...so it wasn't a total loss. I also had quite a workout keeping up with Jimmy as we walked a mile to and from the stadium. I never knew he was a power walking champion. In other sports news, I'm down by 1 point in my fantasy football game this week...but Randy Moss is playing tonight...so barring any injuries, I should be 3 and 1 on the season.